Our Fitness Blog

Nutrition + Exercise, Not Enough?

Whoa, wait, what? Nutrition & exercise is not enough? Does this bring back memories of C&C Music Factory and their hit song, "things that make you go hmm." If so, good for you! Nutrition and Exercise is not enough? C’mon now. I am sure you have read this or heard this before because it comes up frequently especially in regards to medications such as cholesterol-lowering medications.

Often times, the ad will start out with, "when nutrition and exercise are not enough." Now, let's dive more into this. What body type is typically part of this advertisement? Well, the individual associated with the ad is overweight and/or obese. Once again, "things that make you go hmm." So, we are referring to an obese individual and we are saying the following…when nutrition and exercise are not enough, really?

Let's sum this up; the message of the advertisement is just that. Your cholesterol is still high even though you are exercising and watching your nutrition. But once again, they are referring to an overweight and/or obese individual. Which means the individual has not done all they can in the world of exercise and nutrition, make sense? They are still overweight/obese. So how could they have exhausted all exercise and nutrition options?

The only time that the statement regarding exercise and nutrition can be even somewhat relevant is if we are talking about an individual, male or female, that is amazingly lean and ripped. Why? Well, it's simple, this means that this individual has done virtually everything they can in terms of nutrition and exercise. They have the lowest amount of body fat possible; they are extremely lean and ripped. Therefore, they truly have done virtually everything they possibly can with nutrition and exercise. And we have to also make note that this individual has been super lean, super fit and super ripped for months and months and months and months and years on end. Once again, this would then be confirmation that this individual has done everything possible in terms of nutrition and exercise.

Statements like, ‘when nutrition and exercise are not enough’, should make individuals scratch their head. How can we talk about an individual that is overweight and/or obese and put the tagline, "when nutrition and exercise are not enough?” We can't put that statement with it, not even close, it just makes no sense. It would be like saying ‘running is not enough’ to be a better runner and the person is only running 3 miles per week.

And not only do we see such statements in ads and television commercials, but it happens in the real world. Just the other day I was approached by an individual and this person says, "Are you Rick?" I said yes and then this individual proceeded to tell me that they were recently at their physician, had blood work done and their cholesterol and triglycerides were very high. This individual was very perplexed by this because their next statement was, "but I exercise regularly and watch what I'm eating; exercise and nutrition just must not be enough." Now, what do you think the body type of this individual was? Well, if you guessed overweight/obese, you are exactly right. It's unfortunate that so many individuals have been programmed to believe that this ‘exercise/nutrition is not enough’ is actually an option. Once again, unless an individual is lean & ripped, they still have body fat to lose and therefore they have not yet exhausted the nutrition and exercise combo.

Here's a quick example. An individual brought me on board as his personal fitness, sport-specific and nutrition coach. He was in his 50’s, worked out regularly and competed in many running and triathlon events. He was significantly overweight, despite all of his exercise and he also noted that he "watched his nutrition." For the past 10 years, this individual has been on medication for high cholesterol. Fast forward 12 weeks with this individual following the plan I Rx’d for him to a T, and he loses 25 pounds of body fat and for the first time in 10 years, not only was he able to reduce his cholesterol medication, but also he was able to completely eliminate all medications he was on. And, as if that was not enough, he dropped his cholesterol more than 50 points. This is a 50-point drop off of medication.

Point being, we can never, ever, ever point to nutrition and exercise not been enough unless we have an amazingly super-lean physique that shows we have done everything possible. And again, the only way to show that an individual has absolutely exhausted every possibility in terms of nutrition and exercise is one that has achieved a very lean, ripped and well muscled physique. This means they have done everything possible to drop body fat in order to get and remain lean. But until then, if there is additional body fat on one's body, that means they have not yet exhausted the nutrition and exercise combo.

In summary, when individuals say, ‘nutrition and exercise are not enough’; what they are really saying is that their exercise and nutrition choices and habits are not working. The all-too-often beer, wine, cookies, cakes, chips, crackers, wings, burgers and fries that they choose is not allowing them to achieve their desired medical test results and body composition results. So, maybe their nutrition choices are not working (despite them exercising, and trying to eat better); but in no way does this mean nutrition and exercise are not enough, not even close. Eat Right, Train Smart, Get Results™!